Famous fliers die in air crash

By Ben Fenton

12:00AM BST 13 Jun 2001

TWO pilots who claimed places in the history of aviation died when the light aircraft they were in crashed into a field near Seattle.

One was the survivor of one of the most unusual air accidents and the other was one of the best-known defectors from the Soviet air force. In 1998, a Cessna that Mike Warren, 50, was flying became entangled in power cables in the north-western state of Washington.

He and the plane hung upside down 60ft above the ground for four hours until firemen rescued him. But on Sunday, a Yakovlev 52 training aircraft Mr Warren was in crashed out of control.

At his side was Alexander Zuyev, 40, who 11 years ago flew a MiG-29 from the Soviet Union to Turkey, despite being wounded by gunfire. He was granted asylum in America and made friends with Mr Warren when he moved to Washington state.